Embracing The Cross - A Meditation

We look upon the cross, and see a hideous instrument of unspeakable torture.

The heavy tree which was borne upon bloody shoulders, shoulders once wet with the tears of the many sorrowful who cried upon them and found comfort. Shoulders upon which little children were borne, upon which angels danced, upon which the weight of the world was carried.

A wooden beam to which was nailed hands that blessed those who sought, comforted those who mourned, and healed those who suffered. Hands that set the stars up in the sky, sculpted valleys amidst the highest mountains, and shaped the smallest detail of every living thing.

A blood-stained reminder of the evil men can do to each other, and to their God.

We look upon the cross, and we remember that, once upon a Friday more than two thousand years ago, the most terrible thing took place: the loving Creator was killed by those He created.

And yet, because we gather here in faith, we look upon the cross, and remember the most beautiful gift to mankind. We behold the instrument of the greatest love that was, is, or will ever be.

Jesus Christ, Almighty Lord and God, Creator of the Universe, the Great I Am, could have rejected the pains and sufferings of the cross before Him. He could have chosen not to be subjected to the brutality unleashed upon His earthly body, and instead return to His heavenly home without a second thought for His persecutors.

Yet He embraced the cross; He bore the weight of what no other person on earth could carry. He willingly took upon Himself the sins of an ungrateful world, no matter how much pain He had to endure, no matter if it cost Him His very life. And, by freely offering Himself as a sacrifice in the worst tragedy ever witnessed, He brought about the greatest good the world has ever known: the eternal salvation of mankind.

As we look upon the instrument of our salvation, let us remind ourselves of the crosses that each of us must bear. Let us think of the sufferings we may be experiencing, the burdens we find difficult to carry.

What is my cross?

Do I reject it? Do I run from it? Or do I, like the Lord, embrace it with the same faith that my own sufferings and self-denial will, in the end, bring about the greatest good I can offer in this life?

We contemplate the cross upon which our Savior redeemed us, and trust that our acceptance of our own crosses unites us to the Lord’s sufferings as He carried His cross to Calvary. The closer and more intimately I embrace my cross, the closer I am to what the Lord Jesus must have endured to win my freedom, and the more intimately I understand His immeasurable love for me.

25 March 2005

Father Edgar asked me to write this meditation to precede the Veneration of the Cross last Good Friday. Binx read it in lieu of the homily while Boyet played the guitar in the background. The little church was jampacked, but you could hear a pin drop as the congregation reflected on the Lord's great sacrifice. Afterwards, everyone silently lined up to kiss the instrument of our Salvation - it was difficult to hold back tears as even the older, weaker members of the community started to approach the cross on their knees. Truly, we are not worthy...but apparently He believed otherwise, and who are we to argue with that? :-)